In this MLB News and Notes segment, I will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. I also will try to tweet news and rumors as I see them, so feel free to follow me on Twitter: @AndrewIBI.

Here are the stories from Monday, August 4.

Top Stories:

The Cubs will promote star prospect Javier Baez in time for today's game against the Rockies at Coors Field, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reported. Corresponding moves still need to be made to make room for the Puerto Rico native on both the Cubs' 25- and 40-man rosters. Baez is a consensus top-10 prospect in the game, as detailed in recent midseason minor league rankings by Baseball Prospectus (which puts him at No. 5), MLB.com (No. 6), Baseball America (No. 7) and ESPN's Keith Law (No. 8). After 434 plate appearances for Iowa, Baez is hitting .260/.323/.510 with 23 home runs, so it seems his power swing is ready for the big-league spotlight.

Tribe News:

Jordan Bastian of MLB.com noted after Monday's game center fielder Michael Bourn (left hamstring) will begin a Minor League rehab with Double-A Akron on Tuesday.

Nick Swisher was out of Monday's lineup against the Reds due to soreness in his right wrist, which he hurt while swinging during a sixth-inning strikeout against Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish on Sunday. Swisher already dealt with knee issues, a season-long slump at the plate and a relegation to designated-hitter duties this year. Indians manager Terry Francona said the hope is that Swisher will at least be deemed available off the bench by Tuesday, because Cleveland is set to open a two-game road Interleague set against Cincinnati on Wednesday. Francona said he is "hesitant" to head into the National League format with a short-handed bench. Swisher said his wrist felt improve Monday morning, but there was still some soreness.

Michael Brantley's walk-off home run Sunday marked the 75th walk-off shot in Progressive Field history (1994-present), representing the most of any ballpark in that time period. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Brantley also became the first Indians player to have at least two extra-inning walk-off shots in the same season since Jim Thome had three in 2001.

News and Notes:

General manager Brian Cashman confirmed to George A. King III of the New York Post that Masahiro Tanaka threw yesterday for the first time since a slight UCL tear was discovered in the righty's throwing elbow. Depending on how Tanaka responds to his session, he'll continue his rehab process with an eye towards a return in September. If he doesn't feel right, Tanaka may have to undergo Tommy John surgery and could be in jeopardy of missing the entire 2015 season.

The trainer for Christopher Torres, a 16-year-old Dominican shortstop, made a complaint to the commissioner's office claiming the Yankees backed out of an agreed-upon $2.1 million bonus with the youngster, Baseball America's Ben Badler reported. The Yankees claim no deal was ever reached, while Torres' trainer said that by not informing Torres of their decision until June, the shortstop was left unsigned with no teams had room left in their international budget. Badler went into great detail about the case and the gray area created when teams agree to sign international players months in advance of the July 2 signing period, which is against MLB rules but is very common around the league.

Giants pitcher Matt Cain decided to undergo surgery on his right elbow to clean up bone chips and other debris. As a result, he will miss the rest of the season, according to Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that players that went on revocable waivers yesterday were Jason Hammel of the Athletics and Wade Miley of the Diamondbacks. As Rosenthal noted, it seems likely that clubs will claim Miley, but that he will be pulled back by Arizona. As for Hammel, a deal still seems rather unlikely since Oakland dealt away some important rotation depth in Tommy Milone. Phillies players Marlon Byrd, Jonathan Papelbon, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, and Carlos Ruiz also hit the wire. They will be on waivers until Wednesday.

The Diamondbacks' deadline trades were analyzed by several rival talent evaluators, who shared their thoughts with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Some scouts felt Gerardo Parra is on the decline and could've been a non-tender candidate since he's on pace to earn between $6-7 million in arbitration this winter, so "getting even a decent piece for Parra is a great move," said one American League source. Parra was dealt to the Brewers on Thursday.

Though the trade deadline has passed, the Nationals are still looking to bolster their left-handed relief corps and are considering Neal Cotts of the Rangers, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported. The sides have had prior talks, but Texas has held out thus far for a better offer.

The Mets designated veteran outfielder Bobby Abreu for assignment, the club announced. Kirk Nieuwenhuis took his spot on the active roster, according to the Mets.

User Comments

Homer

August 5, 2014 - 6:53 PM EDT

Turner is only 23 and controllable for yrs (2018)? He's got good vel and a solid GB rate. His balls in play numbers seem to indicate he's unlucky. Turner seems like a great buy low option, IMHO.

Chip

August 5, 2014 - 3:51 PM EDT

Nevermind, the Nats claimed Matt Thornton.

Monster in Steve.

August 5, 2014 - 2:55 PM EDT

No way Turner makes it all the way to the indians... If Colorado or the Cubbies don't end up with him I'd be surprised...

Walter

August 5, 2014 - 2:16 PM EDT

Marlins DFA Jacob Turner. Part of the Sanchez trade. Should the Indians take a flier on Turner.

Chip

August 5, 2014 - 11:19 AM EDT

I would be a significant amount of money that several teams already asked about his availability, but the asking price was high, as it should be.

Chip

August 5, 2014 - 11:18 AM EDT

It appears that the performance of Crocket has garnered favor with Tito. I'm not suggesting trading him no matter what. What I am saying is if the return is significant and helps fill a need then deal him. The reasons you state not wanting to trade him are the same exact reasons that he has good value. Are there any others that can be the 2nd lefty out of the pen? Hagadone, Barnes, Outman, Soto, Ramirez, or even Araujo are possibilities. How many wins/losses are the result of a 2nd LH reliever? Relievers are a finicky bunch and seasonal performances seem to take big swings either way from year to year. That being said, he has been solid and I wouldn't be dissapointed if he were around the next couple of years.

Tony

August 5, 2014 - 9:46 AM EDT

Rzepczynski has been a pretty consistent and valuable addition since being acquired this time last year. He's relatively cheap and under control for two more seasons......I am not sure why we would want the Indians to deal him, especially since their window to win with this group of Brantley, Santana, Kluber, etc is right now the next 2-3 years.

Chip

August 5, 2014 - 5:59 AM EDT

Marc Rzepczynski should be made available if the return is significant. I'm surprised he wasn't traded before the deadline. Why couldn't he have been packaged with Asdrubal for another player with Walters? Just surprised something like this didn't happen.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!